Light Minds Think Alike

Hi John,

I have been asked this question.

The best answer is, "Do you like chocolate or strawberry ice cream?"

Both consoles are powerful lighting control desks with excellent technical support.

This is a breakdown of issues as I see them:

Do you currently have an Obsession? - EOS

Are your shows cued in a strict theatrical manner? - EOS

Are your shows seat of the pants, don't know what will be thrown at me events? - Congo

Do you have multiple operators familiar with other ETC boards that will complain about having to learn a new syntax and then make the syntax the excuse for not properly running the boare? - Get new operators but until you do, EOS

Do you like direct access control for making speedy quick changes in the middle of a show the way that the Expression series could? - Congo

Do you like to have a wireless remote (cordless phone) that you can buy at any electronics store and hook-up to the board? - Congo

Size and money are the difference between EOS/Congo and Ion/Congo Jr.

All of this being said, my preference is for the Congo.  I have spent a bit of time becoming familiar with the console, and I like the way I can adapt the board to the differing needs of the shows that I am doing.  I have never liked tracking consoles for one-off seat of the pants style shows.

And don't get me started about "Fan" and palettes by fixture type!

Congo!

John Palmer

No answers, only more questions... (Note these questions are broader than just Eos vs. Congo.)

What do venues similar to yours have?

How experienced, and willing to learn, are your operators?

Do you want a console that most rental lighting shops have?

How important is knowing an exact replacement is available within x miles to you?

Given the choice between "popular" (a console everyone knows) and "better" (that fewer people understand), which would you choose?

Would you rather have a product with mature software possibly near the end of its life, or ever-evolving software that must be upgraded every few months for functional features?

When faced with this question, I always have the same answer: Microvision FX.  

1. Compact size

2. Kick-ass FX Engine (1st generation!)

3. Spinny-granite wheel thingy

4. No pesky ethernet link to fail on you

5. No confusion as to which "DMX Universe" my fixtures are on. Chances are it's on universe 1

6. I only need one monitor. Preferably monochrome. I don't like to be distracted by colors

7. No one should need more than 6 submasters

I hope that i've answered your questions effectively.

As a long-time Express/Expression user, it appeared that my opinion would be highly predictable when this question was first posed to me. Determined to actually investigate the merits of both of these two excellent boards, I might have ended up a devout sailor under Captain Avab, instead of the screen-poking, slider-motoring Eos lover I am today, had I not posed to myself one simple question that I ask myself every time I hit the power button; how much FUN do I want to have today?

In truth, both boards are equally qualified to handle almost any lighting challenge I could think of, and the languages and process intricacies of each can be learned fairly easily. Coming from my Expression background I run my Eos almost exclusively in "Cue Only" mode so despite all else, I don't really consider it a Tracking console in any practical sense. So in a competition between boards equally capable and qualified, my heart shall always belong to the one that appealed to my inner child, as much as my outer programmer.

I still remember the training session, when Ann first told us to turn the fader page, and the surprise of watching the faders all jump back into the new page's positions. I envisioned choreographing fader ballets while I waited for the Director and the LD to finish arguing about the pattern wash in the house preset.

And then there were the touchscreens.

Growing up, I was fully aware that everything I needed to know about life could be found on Star Trek, the Next Generation; mankind would eventually overcome its petty infighting and pursue a deep-seeded yearning for exploration, you should never trust an egomaniac named after a letter of the alphabet, and that in the future, everything would be run off touchscreens. All of a sudden, the future was now.

With all due respect to the esteemed Microvision FX, I have 10 fingers; give me 10 sliders, and let them control as many submasters as I can think of. And give me 5 screens, all of them touchable, and each with a more vibrant and colorful and informative display than the next; I got into this industry for the very reason that I love to be "distracted" by color. Let color tell me something, whether intensity has increased or decreased, whether I'm in live or blind. If you need everything on your board to have meaning than give color meaning rather than getting rid of it.

And give me as many universes as you can possibly fit in one console; If I'm going to command the Enterprise, I want to boldly go where no one has gone before!

The thing which has always attracted me to ETC (aside from it's amazing technical support) is the fact that you have never lost sight of the truth I hold most dear, that just because something you do is work should never keep it from also being play. The simple compulsion to play with this board, beyond the necessities of my venue, have led me to log far more hours on it, to become far better at operating it, than I ever could have at a board I simply worked at, but did not play at.

This is why I chose the Eos; because when I work, I play.